JB's Adventure Blog: Fool's Gold 100 Festival Dahlonega, GA

Erin and I had a blast at the race this weekend. It was one part race, one part festival. In the last year the Fool's Gold 100 and 50 has doubled in size, and there is no wonder why. Bands, beer, camping and activities like bike limbo and group rides made for a lot to do!

Early in our 100 mile test, about halfway up the first climb, the golden rays of the first light of day were just starting to filter in through the trees. Orange glowing orbs dotted the mountainside foliage to my left. I saw them speed by out of the corner of my eye, but I was busy covering the moves so I didn't look for long. Already at full speed and only ten minutes into the race, our four man group was surging toward the top of the mountain. A hard charging Jeff Schalk traded blows with Diego (a pro road racer from Columbia, South America), and Thomas Turner of Cannondale. Our group was closing in fast for the KOM at the top of the first climb up Sassafras Mountain.

Schalk has been on a tour de force in the NUE 100-mile national series this year, winning all of the events he's entered so far and locking down the series overall. There is no wonder why, after seeing him ride the other leaders off his wheel in the first two hours of the race. Jeff has an incredible motor and I knew to watch out for him.

I had to play defense because I have been training for XC races and have not done a ride over five hours in months - let alone seven hours at full throttle pace! Eating and staying hydrated were the most important things in my mind. I knew I would need my strength to put in some efforts late-race.

We raced and raced, 40 miles in and we were flying well ahead of the rest. As we flew through the single track I tested Jeff, and when we hit Sassafras Jeff tested me. It would come down to the wire - or so I thought.

Jeff stopped to get a feed at mile 63 and while catching back on to me on a 45-mile-an-hour dirt road he pinched flatted. He put his only tube in, but it wouldn't hold air. After waiting for a donor he finally fixed it, but pulled the plug.

Meanwhile, I just thought Jeff was still back there just out of sight so I kept the pace steady to avoid a late race leap frog. (I had an interesting exchange with Harlan Price last year at the Wilderness 101. I was 30 or 40 seconds up, we both had to pit at the last stop and as I was leaving he was entering. Had he skipped it he would have been back on my wheel!)

Anyway, after my time trial effort and rushed pit at stop 2/3 I was told that Jeff was out, but I didn't trust that Thomas Turner, Garth or Charlie Storm were that far behind so I kicked it in gear and had a blast riding my own fast pace through the last sweet sections of trail to the finish of my first National 100 race win of the year. It was epic, I forgot how tough 100 miles of trail can be, and this race had ZERO pavement unlike most other 100's.

One of the best parts of the race was the hanging out afterward with the most awesome people, listening to good bands and reveling in the adventure of the day. Believe it or not, that event makes me want to go out and do some more mountain biking. I think I'll give it a day off first!

GO RIDE!
JB

Labels: Endurance Racing

posted by Jeremiah Bishop # 10:07 AM

Fool's Gold 100 Festival Dahlonega, GA

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